Independent cinema support gave rise to several OTTs

The support and promotion of independent local cinema gave origin to OTT services such as Boonet, in Colombia, and Cholofix and Zine.ec of Ecuador, while for El Tiempo Play in Colombia its genesis lies in an innovation project of the editorial company, which also has a regional network and the logical step was to create an OTT.

The experience of these services was showcased during the panel of NEXTV Andean Series, OTTs Andinos y la Oportunidad de Súper-Agregación (Andean OTTs and the Opportunity for Super-Aggregation), which included Diego Vallejo Janne, Chief Digital Officer of El Tiempo Play; Carolina Cuervo Navia, CEO of Boonet; Cindy Murillo, CEO of Zine.ec, and Jota Salazar, founder of Cholofix. Pablo Mancuso, president of Accion Group, hosted the presentation.

“We believed in the need to generate a single space with 100% independent Colombian content. We realized that there was an important gap to close,” said Cuervo, whose Boonet platform was born in 2018.

El Tiempo Play was founded in October 2020. “On the one hand, we are a hybrid model, we sell independent cinema, we are incorporating TV signals to create an offer of differential value. We see the potential for information which we already have and incorporating some entertainment with alliances, working with an independent cinema integrator and we are expanding into esports and gaming, where we will launch a 24-hour platform,” said Vallejo Janne.

Regarding the business models, Cuervo highlights that the Boonet platform was created together with the subscription one. They also have a part of buying and selling content where the profits go more to the producer and another thing is the festivals. “We also host products for free that are fully funded, but those who are interested in gaining an audience,” she says. While El Tiempo Play is a AVOD where they can insert brands organically and soon by subscription.

Murillo, Zine.ec, indicated that the subscription and rental of movies from her catalog are part of the business model. In addition, they also host festivals. The third source of income is CineEduca, a package for the educational segment.